Musical instrument



Sept. 11, 1951 w. F. MEYERS MUSICAL INSTRUMENT 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 21, 1948 raga Patented Sept. 11, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE MUSICAL INSTRUMENT Walter F. Meyers, Maywood,Ill.

Application May 21, 1948, Serial No. 28,504

1 Claim.

This invention relates to a musical instrument,

and more particularly to a musical instrument designed automatically to provide a desired sound as a function of a visual indication.

One feature of this invention is that it provides a member adapt-ed to produce sounds of various pitch, a device having a movable portion providing a visiual indication of a sound of desired pitch, and mechanism connecting said member and device automatically to provide variations in the pitch of the sounds produced in accordance with the position of the indicating device; another feature of this invention is that the instrument carries indicia for desired sounds (as a sheet of music), an indicatingdevice on sald instrument cooperating with said indicia to pro vide an indication for a desired sound, and a member adapted to produce the desired sound automatically as a function of the indication given by the indicating device; a further feature of this invention is that the instrument is ctrranged to readily removably carr sheet music or other indicia for desired sounds so that any desired tune may be played on the instrument by a person completely unskilled in the musical arts, as for example by a child; yet another feature of the invention is that the sheet music or other indicia is carried by the instrument in a position wherein the staves are horizontal and the music is in position to be viewed when the instrument is held in playing position; still another feature of this invention is that the indicating device which provides a visual indication of a desired sound comprises a resilient member which will not sag or otherwise become disarranged and will always provide the same indication after repeated use; and an additional fea ture of this invention is that the portion of the instrument which carries the sheet music may be pivotal so that the instrument may be folded for easy packing and shipping.

Other features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following specification and from the drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation, partly in section, of a musical instrument constructed in accordance with this invention;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the apparatus of Fig. 1; v

Fig. 3 is a vertical section along the line 33 of Fig. l

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary horizontal section along the line 4.4 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary horizontal section along the line 55 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 6 is a vertical section along the line ,6-6 of Fig. 2;

Fig. '7 is a side elevation, partly in section, of a modification of the invention;

Fig. 8 is a top plan view of a portion of the instrument shown in Fig. 7; and

Fig. 9 is a horizontal section along the line 99 of Fig. 7.

The present invention provides two fundamental advantages over any musical instrument heretofore known to the applicant. First, and perhaps most important, it provides a novel apparatus which enables a person to teach himself to become proficient upon a musical instrument, as for example a harmonica; and second it provides a musical instrument from which great pleasure and utility can be obtainedeven though the operator is completely unskilled in the musical arts. With the musical instrument which I have devised any person can play any tune for which music or other indicia from which a visual indication can be obtained is furnished, and by playing, such person can teach himself in a very short time to read music and to play an instrument, as a harmonica. Furthermore, if desired my instrument may be used ,as a toy, and any tune for which music or other indicia providing a visual indication is providedmay be played on the instrument by any small child, even though the child is completely unskilled in the musical arts, thereby providing pleasure both for the player and for other members of a group with which the player is associated.

Referring now to the drawings, the instrument comprises an elongated support l6 having an indicia carrying portion II atone end. The supp J0 is hollow, havin a channel lob therein as shown in Figs. 2, ,3, and 5, and the indicia carrying portion H is arranged so that a sheet of music or other member having thereon indicia providing a visual indication will be positioned with the staves horizontal and with the music in position to be viewed when the support H3 is held in playing position, normally in a-substantially horizontal position as shown in Fig. 1. At its other end the elongatedsupport 1D has a portion [2 providing a mouthpiece member I3. The portion I2 is flared out into generally circular form as may be seen in Fig. 2, and in the embodiment of the invention shown in Fig. 1 the portion 12 is separate from the main body of the support l0 and is secured to the main body of the support I!) by means of a bracket I4 and a screw l5, this construction providing for separation of the portion l2 from the main body of the 3 support ID in order to facilitate construction of the instrument.

A member adapted to produce sounds, here illustrated as a harmonica I5 is mounted on the support adjacent the mouthpiece member I 3, the harmonica being carried between the portion I2 and a complementary portion Illa integral with the support II] by means of a bolt I6 secured by a nut I'I. As may be seen in Fig. 4 the harmonica has its mouthpiece formed as a section of a circle, and the harmonica is rotatable about the axis of the bolt It. The mouthpiece member I3 is constructed so that air can be admitted through the mouthpiece opening I3a to only a single reed of the harmonica, the spacing between the sections of the mouthpiece being wider than the opening I5a to each reed l5b of the harmonica, but narrower than the spacing between said openings as will be seen from a com arison of Figs. 1 and 2. At the top of the portion I2 are a plurality of openings I8 to allow air to escape from the exhaust port of each harmonica reed. A drum 20 is carried on the underside of the harmonica and is coaxial on the bolt I6. As shown in Fig. 5 the upper surface of the portion I 0a of the support is provided with a groove 2| which is in the form of a partial circle having its axis at the bolt I6. Stop members 2Ia and 2Ib are provided near the respective ends of the groove, and a pin 22 is carried on the underside of the harmonica and extends into the groove, this pin cooperating with the stop members 2 I a and 2 II) to limit rotatory movement of the harmonica in each direction.

The indicia carrying portion II of the support I 0 has in each side a vertical groove 22, these grooves being adapted to receive a sheet of music 23 so that the sheet is held with the staves 24 in horizontal position and with the sheet in such position that it can be viewed by the player when the support I 0 is held in playing position.

It will be understood that the term sheet of music is intended to include ordinary sheet music, cards having music thereon as shown in Fig. 3, or a roll. In any event, the music or other indicia presented by the portion II is readily changeable so that any number of tunes can be played on the instrument. In the apparatus illustrated, for example, it is merely necessary to pull the card 23 out of the groove 22 and replace it with another card carrying diiferent music, or it will be readily appreciated that the groove 22 might be made wider so that a plurality of sheets of music might be carried at one time and the top one removed when it is desired to play a diiferent tune, or similarly a pair of rolls might be provided of the type found in an ordinary child's portable blackboard. If desired musical notes in conventional form need not be provided at all, since all that is necessarv is that there be s me indicia from hich a visual indication can be obtained to adjust the position of an indicating device to be hereafter described.

This indicating device shown generally at 25 is mounted on the portion II, this device comprising a bracket having upper and lower portions 26a and 2612 which carry a plurality of strands of resilient material, as shown at 21a and 21b in Figs. 2 and 3, these strands being stretched horizontally across the face of the sheet of music 23. I prefer these strands to be resilient, as strands of rubber, as I have found that string will sag after repeated usage and will not give an accurate indication.

4 The indicating device 25 is vertically slidable on the portion II and is secured by means of screws 28 to a connecting member 29, the other end of which is fixed to the drum 2!]. The connecting member 29 preferably comprises a segment of flexible steel tape, this material having sufiicient stiffness that it does not buckle within the hollow of the support II) but being sufiiciently flexible to turn through an angle of approximately as required and to twist through an angle of approximately 90 as shown at 29a, in Figs. 1 and 2. This twisting is necessary in order to wind the member 29 on the drum 29 at one end and in order to allow the member to turn and extend up to the bracket 25 to which it is afiixed at the other end.

If the harmonica I5 is rotated in one direction the steel tape 29 will be wound onto the drum 29 and the bracket 25 with its indicating strands 21 will be moved downwardly. If the harmonica is rotated in the opposite direction the member 29 will be unwound from the drum 2|] and the bracket 25 will be moved upwardly. If it is desired to play a note appearing in the upper stave of the music shown in Fig. 3 it is merely necessary to rotate the harmonica until the strand 21a covers the desired note. This rotation will bring one of the openings I5a into position where air can be admitted to it through the mouthpiece member I3, and upon blowing through the mouthpiece member I3 a sound will be produced as a function of the indication given by the indicating device. If it is desired to play the succeeding note the harmonica is rotated until the strand 21a covers the desired note, and upon blowing through the harmonica air will be produced only to the reed which produces that note. Similarly if it is desired to play notes in the lower stave shown on the sheet of music 23 in Fig. 3 the same process is followed except that the lower strand 21b is utilized. Obviously the strands are spaced apart the same distance as are the staves 24, and there should be as many strands as there are staves. Thus it will be seen that any child or adult, even though completely unskilled in music can play any tune for which music or other indicia from which a visual indication can be obtained is provided.

Many modifications will suggest themselves to those skilled in the art. For example it is not necessary that the harmonica be movable relative to the support. If desired the harmonica can be fixedly mounted on the support and the mouthpiece member I3 may be moved, for so long as movement is provided upon the part of the indicating device, the connecting apparatus provides relative movement between the mouthpiece member and the sound producing member, no matter which one of these latter two members is movable.

Similarly, if desired a device might be provided so that the indicating device is manually moved, this manual movement then causing relative movement between the sound producing member and the mouthpiece member so that instead of rotating the harmonica the indicating device is moved to bring the strand 2! across the note which it is desired to play.

In Figs. '7, 8 and 9 one such modification of my invention is shown, reference characters higher than those used in Figs. 1-6 designating similar parts.

In Fig. '7 a support III) has at one end an indicia carrying portion I I I, in this instance the indicia carrying portion being pivotally mounted by means of a hinge Illa so that the portion may be pivoted to its dotted line position to facilitate packing and shipment. As in the embodiment shown in Figs. 1 to 6 a sheet of music I23 is carried by the portion III and an indicating device I25 which is similar to the device 25 is vertically slidable on the support and comprises upper and lower bracket members I26a and I25b. Although not shown in Fig. 7 rubber strands extend across the face of the sheet of music, being spaced apart a distance equal to the distance between the staves of music on said 7 sheet.

At its other end the support III! is provided with a portion I I2 providing a mouthpiece membet I I3 having an opening I I30, of sufficient width to admit air to only a single reed of a conventionally formed harmonica II5 which is slidably mounted between the portions I I2 and I "la of the support, a pair of handles I40 and HI facilitating this sliding movement. The back of the harmonica carries a rack I42 shown best in Fig. 9, and the teeth of the rack engage a gear I43 which is rotatable on a bolt 6. The gear carries a drum I20 about which is wound one end of a connecting member I29. The connecting member comprises a flexible steel tape similar to the member 29 of Figs. 1 to 6 and this tape twists through an angle of 90 and turns through an angle of 90 so that its other end is secured to the indicating device I25. The tape is of such flexibility that it is not damaged when in the dotted line position of Fig. 7. Referring to Fig. 7, when the harmonica is moved in one direction, as into the sheet, the tape I29 will be wound onto the drum and the indicating device will be moved downwardly. Conversely, when the harmonica is moved out of the sheet the tape I29 will be unwound from the drum I29 so that the indicating device I25 is moved upwardly. The operation is seen to be similar to that of Figs. 1 to 6 except that instead of rotating the harmonica, the harmonica is moved back and forth by means of the handles I40 and HI.

While I have shown and described certain embodiments of my invention it is to be understood that it is capable of many modifications. Changes, therefore, in the construction and arrangement may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as disclosed in the appended claim.

I claim:

A musical instrument of the character described, comprising: a hollow, elongated support having a portion at one end providing a mouthpiece member and having means at the other end for readily removably holding a sheet of music substantially at a right angle to the axis of said supporting member, the staves on said sheet being horizontal and in position to be viewed by the player when said support is held in playing position; a harmonica rotatably mounted on said support adjacent said mouthpiece member, said harmonica having its mouthpiece formed as a section of a circle and the mouthpiece member of said support admitting air to only a single reed of said harmonica; a drum carried by said harmonica coaxially therewith; an indicating device vertically slidable on said support and comprising a plurality of rubber strands spaced from each other a distance equal to the distance between the staves of music on said sheet and stretched horizontally across the face of said sheet for providing an indication on said sheet for a desired sound; and a flexible steel tape having one end connected to said drum and the other end connected to said indicating device, said tape extending within said support and twisting ninety degrees therein, said tape synchronizing rotation of said harmonica and movement of said indicating device and providing variations in the pitch of the sounds produced in accordance with the position of said resilient strand.

WALTER F. MEYER/S.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 176,124 St. John Apr. 11, 1876 925,778 Lanier June 20, 1909 1,573,242 Hand Feb. 16, 1926 1,722,852 Miller July 30, 1929 2,302,158 Van Vulpen Nov. 17, 1942 2,324,614 Dalton July 20, 1943 2,384,742 Hewitt Sept. 11, 1945 2,445,711 Fitch July 20, 1948 2,478,549 Samet Aug. 9, 1949 

